Category Archives: Philipines

If the disposition of the people that I have met from the Philippines is anything to go by it must be a wonderful country.We know the Philippines has produced probably the greatest boxer of the modern era in Manny Pacquiao and possibly the greatest billiards player ever in Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes- The Magician.But Bossa Nova?Here’s lovely Pinay singer, Sitti.Maybe not pure Bossa, she does lots of pop covers, but nice and fresh and not the worst way to include a Philippines artiste in your record collection…Her work is readily available- so just as a taster I’ve put together 10 songs- 9 well known Bossa Tunes and a song from Bacharach and David.

It’s all about goals, and how is this for a goal scoring record: appearances- 357, goals -357.A goal a game over a 13 season playing career- not bad, particularly as the team in question is Barcelona.

Philippines born Paulino Alcántara was the first Asian to compete in top level European football. He made his first appearance for Barcelona as a 15yr old in 1912 and scored a hat trick on debut, earning the nickname El Rompe Redes (the net breaker).In 1916 Alcántara returned to The Philippines, spending two seasons with Bohemians FC.On his return to Barca he was played as a defender, but this didn’t last long!Having previously represented The Philippines and Catalonia, Alcántara made 5 appearances and scored 6 goals for Spain between 1921 and 1923. His international career was curtailed by his medical studies: for example, he declined the opportunity to play in the 1920 Olympics. In a match vs. France in 1922 Alcántara lived up to his nickname, literally shooting through the net. Alcántara later coached the Spanish national team.